Kara D. Brown

The Globalizing Labor Market in Education: Teachers as Cultural Ambassadors or Agents of Institutional Isomorphism?.

Institutional isomorphists and other proponents of world culture theory argue that schools around the world are converging in many ways, whereas anthropologists and others question this conclusion, often arguing that local cultural differences belie superficial similarities. These viewpoints are not merely academic explanations of the spread and apparent convergence of education policies and practices around the world but are often present in policy and practice. The authors seek both to shed new light on these often-entrenched positions and to refocus the debate by considering the presence and influence of such views in the policies and practices of international teacher exchanges. In the context of the expanding global labor market for teachers, the authors consider the implicit theories underpinning international exchange policies and the ways in which the exchange teachers themselves make sense of these policies. In particular, we recognize that although extensive work has been done on the dynamics of policy borrowing, little attention has been paid to international exchange teachers as potential agents of isomorphism, adopting and disseminating practices at the local level. Paradoxically, the exchange policies construct a universal teacher who is interchangeable across national (and cultural) contexts, a view resonant with institutional isomorphists, while justifying the exchanges rhetorically on the basis of their value as a cultural exchange, a view more consistent with the culturalists. The teachers who participate, however—and who effectively self-select by their beliefs that such exchanges are possible—accept the interchangeability thesis and view such exchanges as a professional development opportunity.

Regional Identity and Schools in Estonia: Creating a "We" Feeling?

Activists who are trying to preserve and revitalize the use of Võro, a regional language of southeastern Estonia spoken by only about 50,000 people, feel that the tongue is in jeopardy and that multidimensional efforts are required to secure its future. Establishing a strong regional identity is a central component of this effort. A leading Estonian folklorist and activist advised Võrolanguage instructors to cultivate a sense of belonging and a shared identity among students by teaching traditional culture: “Traditional culture should be taught in schools so that the children are immediately thinking of their grandparents, that some sort of ‘we’ feeling arises in the children. ‘Look, this song was sung in our parish!’” (Kõivupuu, 1997, p. 2). This challenge is daunting in any setting, but it is particularly complicated in Estonia since the Estonian language, which is so central to national identity, has fewer than a million native speakers and is perceived to be endangered. Because Võro is spoken by ethnic Estonians and yet is claimed to be a distinct language, it can be perceived as a threat to Estonian’s long-term viability. For this reason, regional-language activists in contemporary Estonia walk a fine line in their attempts to foster a “we” identity that promotes regional distinctiveness without being perceived as a threat to national solidarity.

The State, Official-Language Education, and Minorities: Estonian-Language Instruction for Estonia’s Russian-Speakers and the Võro

This chapter examines the promotion of Estonian-language education targeting minority communities in Estonian schools, highlights some of the challenges involved in the policy of “acceptable difference”, and concludes with prospects for Estonian-language education.

Teacher Education for Elementary Education

While many factors influence the quality of education, teacher preparation is arguably the central component. Therefore, the preservice preparation of elementary teachers and the ongoing professional development of in-service teachers merit special attention. This article takes a global perspective on teacher education in an effort to examine systems of elementary-education programs, components of preservice teacher-education programs, in-service education, quality control of elementary-teacher education programs, and universal concerns and problems with the education of elementary-school teachers. Comparisons and commonalities are highlighted in teacher education systems located in both industrialized and developing countries.

Policy Drag & Resiliency: Teachers’ Response to Voluntary Language Policy in Southeastern Estonia

How does resilience among teachers shape their appropriation of language policy? Drawing on the history of Estonian schools during both the Soviet occupation and the subsequent period of independence, this chapter investigates how linguistic repression and resilience unfold across space and time. I identify moments of personal and professional resilience across the arc of teachers’ schooled lives, from their time as students to their work as professionals, and the ways these experiences influence the ways they take up language policy in southeastern Estonia. I draw attention to the ways that contexts, in this case, policy environments, shape the lives of teachers and their language policy appropriation. This analysis draws on data from a diachronic, qualitative yearlong, school-based ethnography in southeastern Estonia in 2001–2002, with follow-up research in the same region in 2013–2014. I find individual teachers’ resiliency fosters a sense of purpose for their language-related teaching and activism, and shapes their retention in and role as recruiters for an optional school-based language program. In order to sustain a long-term, non-dominant language program in a context of language shift, the next generation of teachers must be provided with effective pre- (initial) and in-service teacher education.

Introductory Chapter: Questioning Borders

Estonian language policy and planning (LPP) research has begun to expand beyond its decades-long focus on the integration and the Russian minority and on the state’s central role in policymaking. These traditional and critically important areas of focus, however, threaten to obscure other important and fascinating trends in Estonian LPP. Critical areas such as the Anglicization of higher education, the practices of transnational families and corporations, the changed security discourse, dynamic regional language communities, and the emergence of important political agents in LPP, in addition to the state, are also in need of attention. This edited volume aims to help expand our understanding of the dynamism of language policy and planning by exploring the ways in which Estonian-based research in the field reveals shifting borders and new centers of LPP influence and power.

Internationalising Colleges of Education through the Dialectic of the Global and the Local? A Perspective and Possible Pathways from the American South.

Abstract Most schooling disproportionately emphasises national affairs at the expense of more global and local phenomena. Students’ resulting nation bias can be resituated both internationally and more locally by integrating internationalisation policies with place-based education approaches, which help to illuminate these different levels and, particularly, the extensive and complex interconnections between them. This task is particularly critical for colleges of education, where higher education internationalisation policies have the greatest potential to expand the perspectives of public school students. This article uses three cases drawn from the authors’ teaching and local service initiatives to illustrate the educational potential for future teachers and school administrators of working to broaden students’ perspectives through a ‘dialectic of the global and the local’.

What is Curriculum Studies? Thoughts from the Field of Comparative Education

Bieber, J. (1994). Learning disabilities and social skills: Last one picked . . . First one picked on. Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pinar, W., Reynolds, W., Slattery, P., & Taubman, P. (1995). Understanding curriculum: An introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses. New York: Peter Lang.